BBC picks Sunday Telegraph for pre-Christmas channel ads deal

IAN DARBY, Campaign 13-Dec-02

The BBC has struck a deal with the Telegraph Group to support its free-to-air digital channels.

The Telegraph Group won a pitch against other national newspapers to run a pre-Christmas campaign to raise awareness of BBC channels including BBC Choice, News 24, CBBC and Cbeebies and their availability through the Freeview system.

The deal, the first of its kind between the BBC and the Telegraph Group, involves activity in The Sunday Telegraph's TV and radio guide on 22 December.

The guide will be covered by its first wraparound cover and the BBC will also receive branding on poly-bags containing The Sunday Telegraph Magazine.

PHD, BBC's media agency, handled the decision to select the Telegraph Group for the activity. Creative, which involves branding on a cover-wrap that opens out into a magazine spread, will be developed by the BBC.

The deal follows several similar tie-ups recently. The Mail on Sunday was selected by Safeway to carry all its pre-Christmas press ads and the Telegraph Group and Microsoft linked to raise awareness of Microsoft initiatives.

Chris White-Smith, the display ad director of the Telegraph Group, said: "Yet again we've won in a competition for an open brief. The BBC wanted to do something a bit different ahead of Christmas and we are a good fit for them."